Amortentia
by Lily-in-Utopia
Summary: A 6th Year Potions class goes very wrong for Severus and Lily when Slughorn asks them to make a love potion...


"Miss Evans?"

"Sorry Professor…?"

"Could you move next to Mr Snape please?"

"I….I don't think that would be a good idea, Professor."

Slughorn rolled his eyes. "Mr Snape requires your assistance."

Snape glared at Slughorn. "Professor, I actually do not req-"

"Last year I couldn't keep you two apart even if I wanted to and now-"

"We would rather face a create of blast-ended skrewts, than sit together, yes."

"Merlin," he muttered in exasperation. "Miss Evans, if you do not move to Mr Snape's table neither of you will receive any marks for this assignment. Everybody else has managed to find a partner, and you two are trying my patience!"

"Right, Professor." Lily grabbed her possessions and slammed them down harder than she intended to on Severus' table.

"Anyhow," continued Slughorn, "as I was saying before, today we are making Amortentia. I made an example earlier, and you, in pairs, will attempt to duplicate it. Now, Mr Snape, could you enlighten us further – what IS Amortentia?"

"Amortentia," he said, his face displaying an expression of long suffering, "is the most powerful love potion in existence, however is not particularly aptly named as it creates an intense infatuation or obsession rather than genuine _love._"

"Excellent, take five points for Slytherin. Mr Potter, could you tell us what Amortentia smells like?"

"Well..." James began, sniffing at the iridescent potion, "it smells like broomsticks…and…Lily Evans' shampoo, but….hang on…"

"This Potion," said Slughorn over the class' laughter, "smells differently to each of us, according to what would attract us. Right, you may begin…"

Neither Severus nor Lily had found James' comment remotely amusing. Both of them began to work, seething, in complete silence.

Suddenly Lily let out a loud gasp and let the potion-ladle fall to the floor with a clatter.

"Severus!" she whispered, all pretence of silence evaporated.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember last Friday?"

"Do I remember last Friday? Of course I remember last Friday, Lily, it was only three days ago."

"Yes well…that potion Slughorn asked us to make? For extra credit?"

"Right, the one he conveniently didn't tell us the name of, so that we would research it ourselves. Did you?"

"Yes, I did. Did you?"

No. He had not. He had felt so stupid. Which was not something that Severus Snape often felt, so it was rather a big deal. Slughorn had noticed Severus and Lily's sudden estrangement. It was not hard to miss. In truth, he was probably more concerned with the fact that his two best students were no longer producing such brilliant work, rather than _why_ they could not tolerate each other long enough to produce the work at all. And so Slughorn had set it up. An experiment. He called them after class. To create an intricate potion, for extra credit of course, that would bring the two prodigy potions students together, perhaps only for an hour, but working together was the key. Severus knew of Slughorn's motives. But the idea of working beside Lily for an hour, without interruption or distraction was too tempting an opportunity to miss, even if it did mean playing a pawn. Potions class was where Severus and Lily flourished; potions enthralled Lily as much as they did Severus. Simultaneously they would be enchanted and absorbed and somehow, working together they created far more brilliant potions than they did apart. But not that day. Lily had been as cold and distant as if she were stone; their technically perfect potion had an odd stoic stance and seemed to Severus as flat and as anti-climatic as his world was without Lily.

He had not bothered to research the potion. It did not matter. He wanted nothing more to do with it.

"So." He sighed. "What was it that we made?"

"Severus, we made an antidote." Realization dawned. His eyes widened in horror. "Lily... an antidote for what?" he asked, although he had a feeling he knew what her answer would be.

"A love potion."

"Amortentia?"

"I believe so, yes."

Severus frowned. Slughorn was revolving around the room, handing out Chocolate Cauldrons to everyone. "Nice work this term, thought I'd give a little Halloween gift! Most appropriate candy for Potions class, these Cauldrons….yes, eat them now indeed, why not!"

"But why, _why_ would Slughorn have us create an antidote to something that would not be ingested?" Severus urgently enquired of Lily.

"He erm…he probably wouldn't." Lily concluded, stuffing some chocolate into her mouth.

"Right you are, Miss Evans!" exclaimed Slughorn gleefully from behind her. He turned to the class. "Now I've always held a view that the best – and perhaps only real – way to learn something is to experience it. Do I make sense?"

"Well, Professor, if you're saying you want us to swallow our potions and let us run amok in the dungeons, drunk with this cheap – how did Snivellus put it – 'intense infatuation', and then just nip off to Transfiguration shouting our undying love for Mrs Norris along the way, well then I have to say I object…"

"Thank you, Mr Black…"

"Spit it out," Severus whispered suddenly to Lily.

"What, why?" she asked thickly, as she made to take another bite.

"Oh for goodness sake, trust me Lily, spit it out!" he snapped, loudly enough for the class to turn and look at him.

Slughorn chuckled. "Smart boy, Severus! You're on to me! Five points to Slytherin!"

"Merlin's pants! Professor! You spiked the chocolate with Amortentia!" Sirius shouted, and roared with laughter.

"Indeed I have! But don't worry, I have only spiked one, of course! Luck of the draw!"

James waved his hand at Sirius to stop him laughing. "This isn't funny, Padfoot."

"Isn't it?" he smirked. You ate your chocolate already, and mine, too, knowing you." James was not listening. "But his eyes…." he began softly, and his own eyes began to glaze over, "his ebony eyes…"

"Excuse me? Prongs? What the hell are you on about?"

James lifted his gaze to Severus. The class looked on in mute astonishment. Severus froze.

"His hair…the colour of midnight…and sweet raisins…"

Sirius let out a bark of nervous laughter. "Quit staring at Snivellus, Prongs, you're freaking me out."

"Don't call him that. He deserves so much more."

"Prongs. You despise each other."

"Despise? I could never despise that nose…but how ever will I survive, knowing that he does not feel the way I do? Woe is me! I shall surely die without him constantly by my side! Without his ivory fingers, gently grasping mine…"

Shocked absolute silence followed his outburst. Severus looked utterly repulsed.

James turned to face Sirius. He couldn't keep it up any longer. James let out a loud snort and he and Sirius dissolved into a fit of laughter.

"That was brilliant, mate! You totally had me for a second there!"

"I agree…with James…." It was Lily. She stood, leaning over the table, her eyes locked on Severus' face. "Right, Lily," said Severus curtly, "the joke is getting incredibly old."

"Why do you think I'm joking?"

"Oh-ho!" exclaimed Slughorn excitedly, "guess who got the love potion!"

"Professor," began Severus, "professor sort this out-"

"Not to worry Severus, not to worry! You and Miss Evans made an antidote last week-"

"Come here my darling…why won't you look at me?" Lily wailed and lunged at Severus' arm. He blushed furiously and moved to the opposite side of the table.

Sirius looked at James. "Not finding this too amusing, then, Prongs?"

"Padfoot…erm…this is actually much worse than we thought…"

"What do you mean?"

"Ahh, you see last week, Slughorn called them to one of those cozy little after hours potions lessons…"

"What does that have to do with…oh….for heaven's sake, what did you do?"

"I was jealous, okay?"

"Prongs, they're not even friends anymore!"

"He puts me down every chance he gets! Especially in front of her…"

"Fair enough mate, but what did you do?"

"I sabotaged the potion," muttered James in an undertone.

"You _what_!?"

"Keep your voice down! I know it was stupid!"

"You can say that again! Honestly, what were you _thinking_!"

"I wasn't! I guess…well….love makes fools out of everyone."

"Especially now," Sirius jerked his head in Lily's direction. "Although, you've gotta admit, Prongs, Karma rocks."

"No, it bloody doesn't."

By the time the sixth years got to Transfiguration half an hour later, Snape was still seething and blushing furiously. Lily, not as of yet returned to her normal state of mind, was not there. It had been hastily explained to Professor McGonagall that, for Lily's own sake, and perhaps for the sanity of Severus, she had been locked in the dungeon.

"Spare me the details, I think," McGonagall said, holding up her hand, "I really don't think I WANT to know."

Lily, meanwhile, was beside herself. She had been left alone, after a panic stricken Slughorn had discovered that the antidote was useless, had rushed to his storeroom to find ingredients to make a successful one. But Lily, resourceful as she was, not to mention determined, forced open the dungeon door with a few well aimed and slightly unnervingly powerful jinxes. As Slughorn would come to say in later years, never underestimate the power of obsessive love.

The door of McGonagall's classroom crashed open with such force that a majority of the class flew out of their chairs in absolute terror. "Severus?" Lily cried, framed in the doorway. The shock on Snape's face matched only perhaps that of Professor McGonagall, who was clearly torn between astonishment and amusement, though admittedly less horrified than Snape was.

Catching sight of Snape, Lily lunged towards his desk. Snape seized his wand on reflex and yelled, "Stupefy!". Lily crashed to the floor. No-one moved.

McGonagall raised her eyebrow. "Mr Snape. _Explain_."


End file.
